


Lonely

by CaptainErica



Category: Big Bang (Band), K-pop
Genre: Haunting, M/M, Supernatural AU - Freeform, gdyb - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 01:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: Daesung's new apartment is just a 1 bedroom, and he's new to town. He doesn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this.





	Lonely

Daesung moved into the flat over the bookstore in the beginning of January. Moving into a place in the winter, it must be noted, is the worst choice anyone could make, but he’d not had much choice in the matter: his new job had started 1 week later, and he’d needed a place to live in this new city.

Jiyong, rather lazily, moved in 2 weeks later.

The bookstore below sold mostly textbooks, and the majority of those textbooks were for the students at the University that Daesung was teaching drama at. The rest of the textbooks were for foreigners trying desperately to find good language learning guides, and Daesung thought this was amusing and admirable all at once. He’d found he liked to watch them take their purchases to the café across the road where they would sit, all bundled up, next to the large windows on the second floor and try to read. Daesung could see them from his living room, the street between the buildings narrow and crowded and lending to good cross-street viewing. Only three weeks in and he’d found himself an idle hobby.

Jiyong, as isn’t entirely surprising for him, took a little over a week to get comfortable and settled. Once settled, of course, Jiyong was ready to start working.

The last full week of January was unusually cold, and Daesung, fond of curling up in front of the TV with a blanket, something warm, and a moisturizing face mask on, found the light knocking and banging sounds in the radiators distracting. He imagined, as anyone who’d never lived on their own before would, that it had to do with how cold it had gotten and how much extra work they had to do to keep the small, old flat heated. And really: Daesung’s parents had _ondol_ heating, most every house did, so he really knew nothing about radiators except that the floor wasn’t warm like at home and he assumed that was their doing.

Well, he’d _assumed_ and _was told._ Seunghyun, the art history professor he’d accidentally met on his second day at work, had explained the differences between the two types of heating in a very long-winded speech about two days before the cold really kicked in; Daesung wasn’t certain he’d ever know which type the man preferred. It didn’t matter, really though, as both types of heating mixed with the cold air was horrible for the skin, and so the moisturizing while watching a movie, and so the distraction brought on by the noises from the radiators.

Jiyong had never cared either way about heating, or any way, really. He’d spent time in many differently heated households, and honestly couldn’t say which was better as it wasn’t something he’d focused on. The heaters in the flat above the bookstore were wonderfully functional in comparison to the last place Jiyong had lived, so he had no complaints about them.

The knocking in the radiators ceased that Saturday, and left Daesung puzzled as it was the coldest day yet. The heat was still working, though, so he mentally shrugged and set about his day. He was visiting with some friends from University that day, out at a restaurant and then off to wander the streets a little. When he got home he noticed that all of the pictures he’d set out on the windowsills in the living room had tipped over. With brows furrowed he paused, uncertain, looking at the scene, and then noted that one of the windows was slightly open and breathed out a sigh of relief that he was surprised to note he’d been holding.

Jiyong led a fairly simple life, he’d tell you if you ever thought to ask him, which you wouldn’t. He’d always been pretty consistent, no terribly lofty goals… well, he had _one._ He didn’t think about that goal, though, because it was terribly depressing and really, he was fairly content with his work in remodeling and home-decorating.

On Wednesday of the following week Daesung came home to all of the furniture moved 5 inches to the left. He noticed it immediately only because the shift meant that his couch was blocking a small sliver of the doorway where before it had not been. He found that only the living room was affected, and wondered if maybe he’d… maybe he’d bumped into all of the furniture in his living room that morning before he’d left for the campus? No, that would be ludicrous.

It was only the couch that had been in the wrong spot, really, he decided after pushing it back into place beside the doorframe and then looking around a bit. It wasn’t true, really but he couldn’t explain it otherwise and preferred not to try, really. He was too tired to try, actually, had had a long day, and just wanted to eat and then go to bed, so he did.

Jiyong felt a little disappointed in Daesung, truthfully. He didn’t appreciate him, Jiyong thought, didn’t consider _him._ He’d put a lot of work into his design and Daesung had just… just _gone to bed._ He’d do better, though, he knew he could.

For three days straight, Daesung is convinced that something is wrong with the kitchen sink. But every time he got someone to come and check it, be it a friend, a neighbor, his landlord… it was always right as rain for them. As soon as they left, however, the sink would back up, or the water would run brown and smelly, or, or, or… But it was never for long enough for it to _truly_ cause him a problem, just to inconvenience him, make him question…

Jiyong doesn’t think that Daesung takes him seriously, and he’s probably right, but really he shouldn’t dwell on it, it’s really not been that long that they’ve been in the flat…

Daesung went to bed early the following Thursday. He’d canceled his classes, deciding that his mental health needed the break the next day. It was an awful idea, in retrospect, as the problem that was causing him such distress was his own home and the goings on within it, but… it had felt like the right choice at the time; give himself a long weekend, and the students would want the break anyway.

What woke him up at 2am could have been anyone’s guess, but Daesung at first things it’s just because of his early start on sleep, and so sits up to slip out of bed, ready to go to the bathroom and get right back in. He stops, though, sleep-blurred eyes blinking as they try to focus, because something felt wrong. Frowning and hiding his dawning horror behind it, he lifts a hand to rub slowly over his eyes, and notes with a large amount of alarm that his bed is not touching the floor.

Daesung is not an exceptionally proud man, and the scream that rent the air right after that discovery is one he is not afraid to own up to; and one that he _will_ own up to a number of hours from this point. His scream seemed to cause something to snap, and the bed dropped to the floor with a dull _thud_ that was far softer than it probably should have been, but that fact didn’t register until Daesung had himself wrapped in four blankets in a corner of the couch with the TV on. Not that he could really understand _why_ that was important.

Jiyong might agree, if pressed to respond, that he was needy for attention. Daesung didn’t appreciate him enough, his abilities, how helpful he could be… It’s quite rude, Jiyong felt. He didn’t like the way Daesung shrieked and ran off, didn’t like the way he ignored him…

Daesung’s apartment was haunted. It was haunted, it was _absolutely being haunted by a ghost._ Oh _god_ or maybe a demon?

As soon as the sun came up, Daesung had called Seunghyun, who told him to meet him at a café down the road for breakfast and coffee. It wasn’t _soon enough_ but Daesung could wait. It took a lot of bravery for him to get clothes out of his bedroom, but he did it and didn’t suffer any (aside from the heavy thumping of his heart)

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Seunghyun asked over his coffee.

Daesung smiled at that, his problems slowly started to feel more distant just by being there, away from it all. “Define _sleep._ ”

Seunghyun just rolled his eyes, sighing and amused. There’s a layer of worry, though, and Daesung could appreciate that. “As in, something you clearly didn’t get last night.”

And so Daesung told him. He told him all of the little things that had happened to lead up and then… Well, Seunghyun might not necessarily have believed him, but he had something that could help.

Jiyong hated when Daesung brought friends over, not that Daesung did it often, or really ever, at all. This could be more of why Jiyong hated it, because he’d gotten used to it just being he and Daesung, used to the quiet of it, and the way that Daesung reacted to him.

He didn’t like the way this new man reacted when Daesung noticed that all of the silverware was on the floor. Didn’t like the way he looked around the place, didn’t like… didn’t, didn’t like his-

Daesung hadn’t expected Youngbae, the Religious Studies Professor that Seunghyun suggested to be available that very day, but he was, and so to the apartment they went. The cutlery littering the kitchen floor was kind of a surprise, but so was the way that Youngbae looked around the apartment after seeing it.

“You haven’t seen it, the ghost?” Youngbae asked as he came back into the kitchen, Daesung still clearing up spoons.

Daesung shook his head, eyes on Youngbae for a moment, before he’s knocked flat onto his ass, eyes wide and a little shriek of horror building up in him.

It’s shot down by Youngbae shaking his head and stepping forward. “That was rude.”

Daesung blinked, staring up at Youngbae, and then there’s a clatter and the chairs flip over, plates rattling. There’s a sound like howling wind, and then a sound that made Daesung’s blood run ice cold; an unearthly voice, rattling through the veil to be heard.

_“Leave. Me. Alone.”_

Jiyong hated this man, this beautiful man who could see him without his permission. He hadn’t meant to knock Daesung down, but he didn’t, he didn’t want to be found, didn’t want to be made to leave. He liked it here, and yeah, sure, Daesung didn’t appreciate him, but…

“Daesung can’t see you, you know.”

Daesung was paralyzed with fear and confusion, lying on the floor and staring up at Youngbae talking to what appeared to be nothing. The rattling stopped very suddenly, the chairs crashing to the ground, the plates settling, and the sound came again, worse, almost, because of how sad it felt.

_“He’s my friend.”_

“No, he’s not.” Youngbae said, Daesung crawling out of sight without thought, scrabbling, really. “You’ve scared him.”

_“No.”_

Youngbae took a step forward, and his face was open, neutral, not harsh despite how much pain the spirit seemed to be emanating at the simply spoken words. “You’re not happy here.” He said, voice strong, “you shouldn’t be here. What’s your name?”

The silence following that is fraught with tension, and then, quite suddenly, there’s a misty cloud where the voice was coming from. When it disappeared there was a man there, wreathed in white light. _“Jiyong.”_ He whispered, voice still tinny and echoing oddly, but not so bad as before.

Daesung had never seen anything like it, wouldn’t ever again, most likely, but then…

“You should leave Daesung alone, Jiyong.” Youngbae said, before holding out a hand. “Come with me, you’ll be alright.”

Daesung watched in stunned horror, or maybe just utter disbelief, as the ghost Jiyong reached out for Youngbae’s hand. _“Will I be?”_

The terror, the sadness… “You can stay with me, Jiyong.” Youngbae said, and their hands touched, the light around Jiyong brightening and then dimming quite a bit. “I promise.”

Daesung found, rather suddenly after Youngbae left with Jiyong, that the apartment felt emptier. There were no bumps or clangs, no rattling dishes.

It’s weird, though, but Daesung thinks that in the coming months he sees a young man who goes by the name _Jiyong_ wandering the campus. He’s especially common around the religious studies department, but Daesung doesn’t say anything.


End file.
